Forewick Holm is a island in the Sound of Papa, between

Papa Stour Papa Stour is one of the Shetland Islands in Scotland, with a population of fifteen people, some of whom immigrated after an appeal for residents in the 1970s. Located to the west of mainland Shetland and with an area of 828 hectares (3.2 ...

and the

Mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or demogr ...

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

. It lies adjacent to a

skerry A skerry ( ) is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low stack (geology), sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, ...

called Scarf's Head, and the two are connected at low tide. Forewick Holm has gained notoriety through its association with Stuart "Captain Calamity" Hill, who claims that the island is a sovereign

micronation A micronation is a polity, political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from list o ...

named "Forvik". The Forvik project's stated purpose is to show Shetlanders what they could achieve if they asserted their legal rights and seceded from the United Kingdom.

History

The SS ''Highcliffe'' was wrecked on the island on 6 February 1940. It was carrying a cargo of iron ore from

Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...

, bound for

Immingham Immingham is a town and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire, England, on the south-west bank of the Humber, Humber Estuary, northwest of Grimsby. It was relatively unpopulated until the early 1900s, when the Great Central Railway began de ...

Forvik

Forvik's founder, Stuart Hill, is a native of Essex who was shipwrecked in Shetland in 2001 during a failed attempt to circumnavigate the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, earning him the nickname "Captain Calamity". He subsequently settled in Shetland and became an advocate for the islands' independence. Hill argues that Shetland was never formally ceded to Scotland or Great Britain, making the British government's exercise of sovereignty over the islands illegal. In order to draw attention to his cause, he acquired the islet of Forewick Holm and, on 21 June 2008, declared it to be an autonomous

Crown dependency The Crown Dependencies are three offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the British Crown: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey, both located in the English Channel and toge ...

known as "Forvik". The declaration invited Shetlanders to add their own properties to the dependency in order to create a new federation "free of liars, thieves and tyrants in government". On 23 February 2011, Hill issued a further declaration stating that Forvik had severed its ties to the Crown and become a fully independent state known as the "Sovereign State of Forvik". Hill's right to Forewick Holm has been contested by Mark King, the island's original owner. Hill claims to have a signed, witnessed document confirming King's intention to donate the island to him, but King says that he signed this during a manic episode and that the land registry still lists him as the owner. In 2008, Hill began working on an "official residence" on the island, its first permanent structure. He also laid claim to the surrounding seabed and invited companies to bid for oil exploration rights. "Citizenships" were made available for purchase, costing between one and five Forvik guldens (i.e. £60 to £360). Membership was later set at £20 per annum, and in 2015 Hill claimed there were 218 members. Hill travelled to and from the island on a flat-bottomed plywood boat of his own creation. In September 2008, he had to be rescued by a

Coastguard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

helicopter and

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...

lifeboat after his vessel began to sink. His boat was described as "ramshackle" and a "floating wardrobe", and his rescuers criticised him for having no lifejacket or radio aboard. Hill has refused to pay road tax or insurance to the British government, instead creating documents issued by Forvik. In 2011, he was found guilty of driving offences arising from this.

References

External links

Official website of the Sovereign State of Forvik
{{Micronations Uninhabited islands of Shetland